What Becomes of Us
by mssnay
Summary: Christmas Eve and both Jason and Elizabeth are reconsidering their decisions.


It was Christmas Eve and Elizabeth and her boys stood together gazing at their vibrant Christmas tree lit up with bright colored lights and littered with ornaments and bows. She pulled her eyes away from the tree and looked upon her little boys. Cameron was dressed in his bright red one-piece jumper while baby Jake curled up in his mother's arms with a similar outfit. The boys were happy and their mother wished she could feel the same way. She was grateful beyond words to have her men with her, but there was one significant man missing from the familial landscape. Jason.

She ached for him in ways that tortured her soul. She loved him and hoped they would spend the holiday as a family, but it was not meant to be. Elizabeth wondered if she and Jason would ever know what it was like to wake up in each other's arms on a permanent basis. Years of yearning and missed opportunities had once again put them in the position of loving from a distance.

The boys needed a real father; someone who would adore them and keep them safe. Someone who wasn't easily manipulated and substantially stupid. Lucky was no match for what Jason could offer her and the boys. He was too wrapped up in himself and his desire to always be a victim of circumstance, which Elizabeth recognized as a weakness in character that couldn't be remedied.

As she lamented over the bad decisions of the past several months, she couldn't help but release a strained breath of frustration. All she wanted for Christmas was to have the three most important men in her life together. Was that too much to ask?

Jake began to drift off to sleep in the loving confines of her arms, while Cameron yawned and then looked at his mother with tired droopy eyes.

"Mama, I'm tired," he murmured. She watched him waddle to the couch ready to plant himself atop the cushions, before Elizabeth responded, "C'mon honey, time to go night night."

Elizabeth gently grasped Cameron's hand and walked him upstairs. She didn't see the handsome man looming outside her window.

He waited patiently with a solemn expression gripping his striking features. Jason wanted so much, but was willing to give up happiness with the woman he loved and a lifetime with the boys he wanted to raise into men so his criminal life didn't affect them. He knew he was allowing his entire world to disappear by staying away from Elizabeth and her boys, but it was for the best. Right?

As he paced outside her home with watchful eyes, Jason wasn't too sure if his decision to stay away was for the best. The best would have been for him and Elizabeth to be a family, raising their boys and possibly adding a little girl to the clan. His face broke into a wistful smile at the thought of a little girl with Elizabeth's everything calling him Daddy. His heart warmed with love. He needed this...all of it. This was his chance to have a life outside of Sonny and his dramas. This was Jason's moment to take action and be happy or remain a lost soul forever never knowing what could have been.

His attention returned indoors as he watched Elizabeth travel down the stairs with a sluggish gait.

She was struggling to keep it together. So much was weighing on her and Elizabeth wanted to be free of it all. No more lies. However, life didn't work out that way. She pondered the state of her life with each step back toward the beautiful tree she and the boys decorated. Her small fingers skimmed over ornaments she'd loved since childhood. Family heirlooms her grandmother had passed down to her years ago and their presence made her even more dejected about the holiday season.

So lost in her thought she didn't hear her front door opening, but when a deep rich baritone called her name she froze. Her head turned in slow motion because she didn't want to believe he was really there. When their eyes met, Elizabeth's worries melted away. Her sullen face brightened with a smile filled with love for the man who stood before her.

Jason closed the door and remained on the landing staring at her beautiful face. The tank top and pajama bottom made her look like home personified. Her lustrous hair flowed with soft unruly curls, and her glowing face was uninhibited by make-up. Everything about Elizabeth made Jason want to be the best man he could be. She deserved nothing but happiness and all he wanted was for her to always look at him with the intensity and passion that pulsed through her veins now. There was so much each of them wanted to say to the other, but in this moment, neither spoke.

Her bare feet seemed to float toward him and he followed suit. They met in the middle of the room.

"I love you Jason," she whispered with her heart exposed with each word. Elizabeth wanted to say those words to him over and over again for the rest of their days. She wanted Jason to always know he was loved, wanted, and needed.

He saw the sadness in her eyes as they filled with unshed tears. She didn't blink them away; instead she allowed them to fall in slow succession. Jason was awed by the emotions that flowed with each drop.

"I can't do this," she sputtered as the strain of never ending secrets and want was in full display. "I don't want to lose you." The tension in her body surged and her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably.

Jason's heart shattered into a million pieces. To watch her cry was ripping him apart. He understood her sorrow too much to not want to make it go away. His mouth clamped onto her quivering lips with ferocity that surprised him. Elizabeth was his life and her tears broke him. The super mob enforcer literally broke apart watching the woman he loved cry.

He ravished her mouth with intensity as he swept his tongue along the creases of her plump lips until she opened up to him. Like a flowering blossoming, Elizabeth's mouth allowed him entry into the warm depths that would soothe his soul. Deep, long kisses plagued them both and neither wanted to come up for air until their bodies demanded it. They broke apart briefly to fill their lungs in preparation for another long session.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his head pulling him closer to her, deeper into her mouth. Their tongues danced lovingly while he edged her backward toward the sofa. When her legs tapped against the hard surface, she allowed the momentum of their kissing to send her down onto the couch…and Jason followed.

They were on fire, tugging away at each other's clothes until his jacket and shirt were tossed aside along with her tank top. Flesh on flesh, hot skin rubbing together causing friction that would burn them alive.

He took both of her hands and held them above her head raining hot wet kisses down her slender neck toward the turgid peaks of her breasts. Without slowing his motion, Jason wrapped his lips around one nipple massaging it with his tongue. Elizabeth moaned in appreciation leaving the sorrow behind and filling herself with the love only Jason knew how to give.

He tasted her, lavished her with such passion she wanted to scream in honor of his specialized technique. He dragged his tongue across to the other nipple offering the same attention he gave to its twin. Elizabeth was coming undone, her center convulsing for him. Inside her, Elizabeth's body worked at a fevered pitch and she and Jason hadn't even gone all the way yet. That's how Jason worked her body. He knew every erogenous zone that made her crazy. Her breasts were only the first stop.

"Jason," she moaned as he continued his ministrations. "Oh god Jason, don't stop." Her hips began to sway and then thrust under him as he added pressure to her nipple. He went back and forth between the two peaks ensuring that each received ample attention.

His hold on her hands grew tighter with every thrust she made. He knew precisely what she wanted, what they both wanted and he'd never deny her that. There's been too much pain, too much hurt, too much time lost especially with Emily's passing and he decided then with each loving nip that he wouldn't continue the charade anymore. Yes, Jake deserved a life free of danger, but even with Lucky playing the fatherly roll, danger was always a possibility.

Jason stopped and lifted his gaze to Elizabeth. She was coming undone.

"I'm not leaving Elizabeth," he declared with conviction.

Her hooded eyes widened in confusion.

"This is my home, with you and the boys." He pulled one hand away and drifted down her torso, past her belly button and stopped when it slipped beneath the band of her pajama bottom.

"What are you saying?" she questioned with thoughtful eyes focused on him.

Two long fingers dipped into her petal. He licked his lips knowing the wetness he found was in full response to him. Elizabeth's eyes rolled back into her head and she groaned with pleasure.

"Whatever it takes," he began before he thrust into her agonizingly slow. "We'll make it work."

Jason added a third finger and increased the pace as the woman he loved bucked against his hand. Her hips rolled seductively pulling him further and further into her heat.

"Mmmm," she whispered in a voice Jason knew all too well. "We'll make it work."

His face bloomed into a wondrous grin that caused her heart to flutter. He was happy. They had decided to move forward together and be a family. Neither wanted to think about why it had taken so long for them to decide. Besides, they were too involved in the task at hand.

Tomorrow, or maybe the next day, they'll discuss next steps. Right now they wanted to get lost in each other, love one another and think only about how many times they'd make love before the boys awakened. Mommy and Daddy needed love too.


End file.
